The creator behind the beloved Dragon Quest series has revealed a surprising challenge developers are facing - increasingly realistic graphics.
Yuji Horii, the mastermind behind Dragon Quest, mentions that Square Enix developers may struggle to keep up with graphical advancements in the future, but not in a way fans might expect. The problem that better visuals present lies within the JRPG series' usually silent protagonists, as explained in a new interview translated by Automaton. Dragon Quest primarily consists of dialogue with townspeople, with very little narration.
The story is created within the dialogue, and that's what makes it enjoyable. The one character without dialogue is the symbolic protagonist. This allows players to envision the main character's reactions however they'd like, making for a more immersive experience. This type of immersion led by a silent protagonist is far better suited to older Dragon Quest games due to the graphics of the time, according to Horii.
As game graphics evolve and grow increasingly realistic, a protagonist who just stands there runs the risk of appearing foolish. There's no simple solution, as making the protagonist more vocal could make it harder for fans to connect with them. As such, the type of protagonist featured in Dragon Quest becomes increasingly difficult to depict as games become more realistic.
Grappling with more realistic graphics poses a challenge for the future, Horii concludes. This issue likely isn’t exclusive to Dragon Quest, as other JRPG series like Persona also feature silent protagonists. The formula seems to have been successful thus far, even with more recent entries, but it's uncertain what direction developers might take to improve immersion later on.
A Dragon Quest fan remake 11 years in the making is available to download for free, and it adds 6-8 hours of new content.